innovation Archives - Page 4 of 4

Mandy Birch – On Being Yourself (in a Man’s…

February 25, 2020
by Claire

Our guest this week is former military leader and now Quantum Computing pioneer, Mandy Birch.

Born and bred in the USA, Mandy is super qualified . . . she has a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT; another Masters in in Military Operational Art & Science, and a third Masters in International Relations!

Mandy’s entire career has been in male dominated industries. She spent 16 years climbing to senior ranks in the United States Air Force and now she’s working on Quantum Computing with a company called Rigetti. Rigetti is one of four companies (Sept 2019) to have a fully operational quantum computer.

During our conversation, we were fascinated to hear how Mandy only truly thrived in her career in the military when she learnt to be herself. She talks about how important it has been to her career to feel comfortable in her own skin, even when she was different to nearly everyone else in the room.

In this episode you’ll learn:

How to summarise Quantum Computing in a single sentence
How being under-estimated became a positive and shaped Mandy’s leadership style
Why she believes over-planning your career can be a problem
And why getting used to being different and seeing the value in that made all the difference.

Enjoy this episode with the passionate and mission-driven Mandy Birch.

Links of Interest

Mandy on LinkedIn

Rigetti Computing

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Interview

Cecilia Tham – Predicting the Future

February 11, 2020
by Claire

If you’ve ever wondered about what we’ll all be eating in 10-15 years time then this is the episode for you!

Our guest is Barcelona-based Cecilia Tham, a Social Technologist and Futurist. She happens to have the coolest day job working for Alpha, which is Telefonica’s innovation arm briefed to build moonshots to address some of society’s biggest problems, including the future of food.

Cecilia was raised in Macau, attended high school and Harvard university in the US, and then found herself in Spain having to start from scratch, language included. She describes herself as an entrepreneur by heart, a designer and biologist by training, and a maker for life.

On her journey to working at Alpha, she founded and co-founded 3 separate ventures including a Maker cafe, a co-working community, and a coding and tech academy for women.

We think you’ll find Cecilia’s life and career lessons really inspiring. In particular you’ll learn:

How Cecilia’s former husband’s gift of a sewing machine first insulted her and then led to her uncovering a passion and her first entrepreneurial venture
What ‘Trim Tabbing’ is and why it makes her more productive
How Cecilia managed to turn her mindset around and be comfortable being different to everyone else in the room
And…. how she and her colleagues are looking at future scenarios where you’ll be able to grow an entire meal, including meat and veg, with the one plant – yes you read that right – grow your dinner!

Enjoy this episode with the multi-talented and dynamic Cecilia Tham.

Links of Interest

Cecilia’s website

Alpha

Makers of Barcelona (MOB)

FAB Cafe

allwomen AI Training School

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Interview

Laura Anderson – On A Mission to Mars

December 3, 2019December 3, 2019
by Claire

This week’s guest has an insatiable passion for learning and the future and she has the career portfolio to prove it! We’re talking about international company director, entrepreneur and global philanthropist, Laura Anderson.

Laura grew up near Chicago in the US. She found out early on that she was good at maths and loved ideas and set about immersing herself in areas that fascinated her. As a girl she wanted to be an astronaut and to this day is convinced the Space Program is critically important. And yes, she’s passionate about humans getting to Mars!

Laura’s “why not?” attitude ultimately led her to a career in the technology industry where she worked around the world for companies such as HP, KPMG and Perot Systems, as well as starting her own successful supply chain company.

Laura is now based in Australia where she has a full and fascinating portfolio of local and international interests and directorships including being Chair of LaunchVic (a Government organisation to foster a start-up ecosystem), the Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Technology in Schools, and SVI Global Pty Ltd.

She’s also on the boards of: the Fulbright Commission, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, Epworth HealthCare, the National Basketball League, and the Defence Science Institute.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

How Laura goes about influencing people, particularly in a male dominated environment
What tools and tactics she uses to manage her mindset
How she thinks about her global network
Her advice to entrepreneurs
And the reasons why she’s on a Mission to Mars!

Sit back, buckle up and enjoy this episode with the very accomplished and delightful Laura Anderson.

Links of Interest

Laura’s Website

Laura on Twitter

Laura on Instagram

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Interview

Jodie Fox – The Rise and Demise of Her…

October 24, 2019October 24, 2019
by admin

Our guest this week has been on an incredible journey in the past decade – building an iconic online retail empire to global heights and then having no choice but to close it all down last year. We’re talking about Shoes of Prey co-founder, Jodie Fox.

The trailblazing Shoes of Prey became a global start-up and fashion darling during its nine years in business – offering shoes that its customers could personally design and customise online. It was a truly innovative concept.

Big name VC firms thought so too, and Jodie and her two male co-founders raised around $30 million over the life of the business before coming to the heart-wrenching decision to cease trading in August last year. The problem? Despite a stunning launch years earlier, they simply couldn’t get the scale to make the business sustainable in the long term.

Jodie was the Chief Creative Officer and public face of Shoes of Prey, so coming to terms with having to shut down the business, and its global offices, has been particularly confronting for her in the past year having spent the past ten years living and breathing the brand.

In this episode you’ll learn :

How and why Jodie went from being a risk averse young lawyer to a start-up co-founder
What it was like to be married and then divorced to one of her co-founders whilst still having to work in the business together
The three key lessons she’s taken away from the high profile failure of their venture
And, how vulnerable she feels sharing so much of her personal story in her new book.

This is Jodie’s first podcast interview since Shoes of Prey was shut down and it comes as she’s launching her book about the incredible journey she’s been on: ‘Reboot – More Than You Ever Probably Wanted to Know About Starting a Global Business’.

We loved this discussion and Jodie’s generosity in sharing what she’s learnt. Be sure not to miss this one and be among the first to hear her fascinating stories. Plus, enter our competition to win one of ten copies of Jodie’s book that we are giving away to lucky subscribers.

Happy Listening!

Jodie with co-Founders Michael Fox and Mike Knapp; the early days of Shoes of Prey; a Shoes of Prey concept store in the US; Jodie

Links of interest

Jodie’s website

Win one of 10 of Jodie’s new book

Jodie’s Youtube Channel

Jodie on Insta

Jodie on Linkedin

Buy Jodie’s new book – Reboot, More Than You Probably Ever Wanted to Know About Starting a Global Business

Booktopia – Australia

Amazon – US

Amazon – UK

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Interview

Dr Cath Ball – Flying High with Drones and…

September 24, 2019September 24, 2019
by admin

In this week’s episode we meet an entrepreneur and innovator who’s been through more than her fair share of challenge and trauma, yet has found a way to forge her own unique path. We’re talking about the irrepressible Dr Catherine Ball.

Catherine, or Cath, grew up in a pretty poor, single parent household in an industrial town in the UK. Unlike her peers she was determined to go to university where she studied environmental protection. She then went on to complete a PHD – a process she now describes as torturous.

Needing to pay off her student debt, her path then took her into the corporate world where she worked with a number of engineering consultancies in the UK and then in Australia.

Just as Cath was being recognised as a leader in her space receiving the Queensland Telstra Business Woman of the Year award in 2015, her company merged with a competitor and she, to her surprise, was made redundant.

It was this shocking jolt that led her to start her first company and led to her building on her already existing experience working with drones.

Since then she’s be recognised as a true thought leader in emerging technologies, having been awarded many accolades in Australia, including then AFR Women of Influence and Top 25 Women in Robotics Lists, both in 2016.

In this episode you’ll learn:

How she’s carved out her unique path as an entrepreneur;
How she manages her time involved with 10 different projects plus having a young toddler and another one on the way;
How drones will change our lives and
How you need to think about your career in a world of AI, robotics and cybersecurity.

Enjoy this episode with the witty and inspiring Dr Cath Ball.

Links of Interest

Dr Cath Ball’s website

World of Drones Congress

Dr Cath Ball Linkedin

The Social Start Up

World of Drones Education

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Interview

Dr Emma Camp – On a Quest to Save…

March 12, 2019
by admin

This week’s inspiring guest is Dr Emma Camp, a British marine bio-geochemist who searches out and then studies corals that can naturally survive in extreme conditions such as mangroves. This might sound simple but it leads to Emma listing crocodiles as one of the greatest risks of a day in the office!

She’s passionate about saving the world’s coral reefs and has made it her mission that we all should be too. (Emma, we’re convinced!)

Emma is a National Geographic Explorer and a current United Nations Young leader. Despite her relative youth, her pioneering research work and passion for saving corals has seen her receive numerous honours and highly-prized research fellowships.

In this episode you’ll hear:

How Emma used her determination and ingenuity to go from struggling to break into academia to starting her own company to get the research experience she needed
How her Dad’s mantra helps her reach her goals
What it felt like the first time she found herself at the UN General Assembly
And, the real story about the state of the world’s coral reefs and what you can do to make a difference,

Enjoy this episode with the passionate and determined Dr Emma Camp.

Links to Emma:

Emma’s website

Twitter

Instagram

UN Young Leaders Website

Things you can do to help save our oceans:

Take small actions – don’t use plastic, drink from a reusable cup, walk more
Get involved in beach clean ups
Eat sustainable fish. Find out how:
Lobby your politicians – get vocal – make them accountable!

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Interview

Marie Johnson – Breaking Digital Boundaries and Challenging Stereotypes

February 12, 2019
by admin

On the show this week is Marie Johnson, an Australian entrepreneur with a passion for digital and AI.

Marie’s cutting edge work today is all the more incredible when you hear her story….

She was married as a teenager, then soon found herself pregnant and living in a caravan! Despite not having the chance to take her studies further immediately after school, Marie went on to juggle motherhood and study, and earnt several degrees.

One thing led to another and Marie took on CIO and other senior technology roles, particularly in Government, and in 2006 she was named “Innovative CIO of the Year – for Australia” (according to CIO magazine).

Marie now leads the Centre for Digital Business – a company she co-founded with her husband (yes the same one she married all those years ago). She’s a passionate believer in finding ways to use digital technology including AI to make life more equal and fair for everyone.

In this episode you’ll hear:

Why you should have a long and a short game plan
What it’s like as an older woman in technology
How she copes with adversity
How she co-designed the world’s first digital human, Nadia, with the disabled community and
How her husband’s four heart operations and her grandsons are shaping the digital ventures Marie is working on now

Enjoy this episode with the forward thinking Marie Johnson.

We were amazed by this video Marie shared with us (below) showing the incredibly human conversational skills of her current project: creating a Digital Human Cardiac Coach. We think she and the team at FaceMe are doing a truly incredible job. Prepare to be blown away by AI in action:

Kriti Sharma – Robots, AI and the Future

November 20, 2018December 5, 2018
by admin

We’re excited to bring you this week’s guest, Kriti Sharma; a leading global expert in AI and its impact on society and the future.

Kriti grew up in Rajasthan in India. She didn’t have access to a computer at home so she built one herself. She followed that with her first robot when she was 15.

Today Kriti applies her AI and tech expertise to solve global issues from productivity to education to domestic violence. And she’s part-time VP of AI and Ethics at Sage.

She’s recently been named a UN Young Leader; she features in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for advancements in AI; and was included in the Recode 100 list of key influencers in technology last year alongside Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg.

In this episode you’ll hear:

How Kriti’s upbringing in India has shaped what she’s doing today
How a ‘cat with a jetpack’ has helped her tackle gender bias
Her thoughts on the power of AI, both for good and bad and…
Her experience of being invited to meet the Obamas and why it was “life changing”,

Enjoy this episode with the talented and delightful Kriti Sharma.

P.S. Interested to learn more about Artificial Intelligence? Stay tuned for our first ever ‘What is?’ episode early next year dedicated to AI.

Images: Courtesy Kriti Sharma & Sage

Links of interest:

Kriti on Twitter

Kriti’s TED Talk

MIT Media Lab

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Interview

Lindley Edwards – Wisdom to Live & Work By

July 3, 2018April 25, 2020
by admin

We’re super excited to share this conversation with Lindley Edwards with you.

Lindley started her career working for one of Australia’s most renowned investment banks, Macquarie Bank, and then found a love of Asia when she took on a VP role with Citibank.

Today, Lindley runs a corporate advisory business called AFG Venture Group which specialises in cross-border investments and transactions, particularly between Asia & Australia. She’s also Chairperson for two startups and a Non-Executive Director of a Think Tank called AsiaLink.

We love the fact that Lindley is definitely not your normal investment banker… we don’t know anyone else who uses philosophy, poetry, biology, and cross-cultural intelligence as their foundation for thinking about business and disruption.

In this episode you’ll hear Lindley share her wisdom about: